Natural gas has been used as fuel for internal combustion engines in consist locomotives. Because natural gas has a lower volumetric energy density than traditional fuels, such as diesel and gasoline, the natural gas used by the locomotives is generally only practical to store in a liquefied state (“LNG”). At atmospheric pressures, the natural gas must be chilled to below about −160° C. to remain in liquid form. Consists having LNG-fueled locomotives store the LNG in insulated tank cars (a.k.a., tender cars) that are towed by the locomotive. An exemplary consist having an LNG-fueled locomotive coupled with a dedicated tender car is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,766 of McLaughlin that issued on Jun. 25, 2002.
In some consist configurations, multiple locomotive are used to tow the remaining cars of the consist. For example, two or more locomotives can be coupled to each other at the front of the consist. These locomotives can be controlled to operate in tandem to pull the consist, thereby increasing the total number of cars that can be assembled within the consist.
Although the conventional method of coupling a dedicated tender car to a single locomotive helps to ensure an adequate supply of fuel for most travel routes, it can also be cumbersome and expensive, while also decreasing an efficiency of the consist. In particular, when multiple locomotives are required to pull a consist, the extra tender cars (one per locomotive) increase component cost, operating cost, and maintenance cost, and operating complexity of the consist. In addition, the extra tender cars increase an overall weight of the consist and a required capacity and fuel consumption of the locomotives.
Similarly, the conventional method of utilizing multiple locomotives within a single consist can be expensive and decrease an efficiency of the consist. In particular, each locomotive includes a cabin having controls used to regulate operation of the locomotive. When multiple locomotives are coupled together within a single consist, only one of the cabins is utilized for control purposes, and the remaining cabins remain vacant. This inclusion of expensive and unnecessary equipment within the consist further increases the weight of the consist.
The consist and fuel system of the present disclosure solves one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems with existing technologies.